The UCI Enduro World Cup 2025 kicked off with a dramatic opening race in Pietra Ligure, Italy. In a thrilling finale, Daniel Booker came out on top in the men's race, while Harriet Harnden took a commanding victory in the women's race. The new two-day race format with longer, more demanding routes presented the riders with additional challenges and ensured thrilling competition right up to the last second.
Booker wins by a wafer-thin margin
In the men's race, a three-way battle developed between Jack Moir, Sławomir Łukasik and Daniel Booker. Moir initially dominated and took the lead after the first day of racing despite a crash. However, he lost valuable time on the technically demanding Spillpietra stage on the second day of racing and fell back. Łukasik then took the lead, but was unable to hold on to it to the finish. Booker put in a brilliant performance on the final stage and secured victory with a wafer-thin lead of just 0.374 seconds over Łukasik. Reigning world champion Alex Rudeau completed the podium in third place. Booker was overjoyed after his triumph and emphasised the physical challenges of the new race format.
- Daniel BOOKER / AUS / Sansta Cruz
- Slawomir LUKASIK / PL / (YETI / FOX FACTORY RACE TEAM)
- Alex RUDEAU / FR / Commencal
Harnden dominates women's race
Harriet Harnden left the competition no chance in the women's race. The Brit, who is actually focussing on the Downhill World Cup this season, put in an impressive performance and distanced her compatriot Ella Conolly by 24 seconds. Harnden won five of the seven stages and continuously extended her lead. She demonstrated her class particularly on the demanding Fedeli-alla-Linea stage with 700 metres of depth, taking almost 30 seconds off Conolly. France's Morgane Charre secured third place on the podium. After her victory, Harnden was surprised by her strong form so early in the season and emphasised that she had mainly enjoyed the race and had not thought too much about it.
- Harriet HARNDEN / GB / (AON RACING - TOURNE CAMPERVANS)
- Ella CONOLLY / GB / Cannondale
- Morgane CHARRE / FR / PIVOT FACTORY RACING
Where have the Germans ended up?
At the third stop of the UCI Enduro World Cup 2025 in Pietra Ligure, the Raphaela Richter The German Crossworx rider finished a strong 4th place in the elite women's category and just missed the podium - with an overall time of 32:49.204 minutes she was less than 30 seconds behind the winner Morgane Charre (FRA).
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In the men's category Christian Textor as the best German rider in 40th place. The traditional venue on the Italian Riviera once again challenged the athletes with technically demanding and dusty trails.
The stages at a glance
- Stage 1: Isallo Extasy
- Stage 2: Dolcenera
- Stage 3: Hiroshima Mon Amour
- Stage 4: Spillpietra (1.9 km)
- Stage 5: Fedeli alla Linea (3.5 km, 700 metres of gradient)
- Stage 6: no info
- Stage 7: Armuin (1 km)
The new format is convincing
The new two-day race format of the UCI Enduro World Cup was well received by the riders. The longer, more physically demanding stages required good race organisation and presented the athletes with new challenges. The 3.5-kilometre Fedeli alla Linea course in particular, with almost 700 metres of downhill, proved to be a key moment of the race. The format ensured exciting competition right up to the last second and emphasised the adventurous nature of the enduro discipline.
Max Fuchs
Editor
